French Open men's final: Novak Djokovic meets Stefanos Tsitsipas at Roland Garros
Novak Djokovic goes for his 19th Grand Slam title in Sunday’s French Open final, where Greek opponent Stefanos Tsitsipas bids for his first.
Novak Djokovic goes for his 19th Grand Slam title in Sunday’s French Open final, where Greek opponent Stefanos Tsitsipas bids for his first.
Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut fought back from a set and a break down at 4-5 to overcome Alexander Bublik and Andrey Golubev and claim their second Roland Garros title on Saturday.
The home favourites, who were backed heavily on Court Philippe-Chatrier, won 4-6, 7-6(1), 6-4 in two hours and 11 minutes as they became the first all-French team to triumph at the clay-court Grand Slam twice. It is their fifth Grand Slam title overall, with the team having won the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and US Open titles once.
After an even start, the Kazakhstanis, who were aiming to become the first male players from their country to win a Grand Slam title in any discipline, won three games in a row from 2-2, breaking the 2018 Roland Garros champions twice to move 5-2 ahead. Although the French tandem did close to 4-5, Bublik and Golubev held serve to clinch the set as they won 80 per cent (16/20) of their first service points.
Despite being broken at the start of the second, the Kazakhstanis continued to return well, claiming 40 per cent (8/20) of points on Herbert and Mahut’s first-serve, as they won four of the next five games to lead 5-4. However, the pair, who were competing in their second Grand Slam together after reaching the third round at the Australian Open in February (l. to Arevalo/Middelkoop), could not close out from deuce while serving. Herbert and Mahut then dominated the tie-break to force the match into a decider.
From there, the experience of the French pair showed, as they saved both break points they faced before taking their opportunity to move 4-3 ahead in the decider. Herbert and Mahut, who dominated around the net during the contest, went on to close out the victory on serve for their 18th title together.
On Sunday in Paris, Novak Djokovic will look to raise his 19th Grand Slam title when he takes on first-time major finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Roland Garros final.
Djokovic enters the showdown on the heels of an impressive four-set win over 13-time champion Rafael Nadal, while Tsitsipas managed to subdue Alexander Zverev in five sets. Both Djokovic and Tsitsipas have been playing some of their best clay-court tennis this season and, if their history is any indication, Sunday’s final should be a highly competitive one.
World No. 1 Djokovic sits atop the FedEx ATP Rankings and, with a win, can take first place from Tsitsipas in the calendar-year FedEx ATP Race To Turin, which this year will determine the coveted year-end World No. 1 title after the Nitto ATP Finals.
Sunday will mark Djokovic’s sixth Roland Garros final. He won the title in 2016 and if he can triumph again Sunday he will become the first man in the Open Era to complete the career Grand Slam twice. (He has won the Australian Open nine times, Wimbledon five times and the US Open three times.)
Djokovic leads their ATP Head2Head Series 5-2, with his two losses coming on hard courts in Toronto in 2018 and in Shanghai in 2019. Djokovic has won all three of their clay-court meetings and they’ve played best-of-five sets just once, at Roland Garros last year.
Below, ATPTour.com reflects on four of their seven meetings that have gone the distance.
National Bank Open Presented by Rogers 2018: Tstisipas def. Djokovic 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3
The summer of 2018 was Tsitsipas’ breakthrough when he established himself as a true threat at the top echelon of the game. At the time, the Greek was on the cusp of leaving his teens and ranked No. 27 in the world.
His third-round win over Djokovic in Toronto was a huge turning point and it proved to the world that Tsitsipas had the skillset to beat anyone. He’d go all the way to the final of the ATP Masters 1000 that year (l. to Nadal). Closing out the season by winning the NextGen ATP Finals trophy in Milan further set Tstisipas up for bigger and better things in 2019.
Rolex Shanghai Masters 2019: Tstisipas def. Djokovic 3-6, 7-5, 6-3
While Djokovic was ranked No. 1 at the time, Tstisipas was playing some of his best tennis ever in the fall of 2019. The comeback win over the Serbian in quarter-finals of Shanghai would clinch Tsitsipas’ place in the Nitto ATP Finals in London and mark Tsitsipas’ first win over a World No. 1.
A few weeks later, Tsitsipas would surprise many by winning the season finale for his biggest title yet. He’d finish the year inside of the Top 10 for the first time.
Roland Garros 2020: Djokovic def. Tstisipas, 6-3, 6-2, 5-7, 4-6, 6-1
In the semi-finals of Roland Garros in October, Djokovic had full control over Tsitsipas by leading two sets to love and holding a match point in the third set. Instead of running away with the win, the 34-year-old let the Greek back in the match.
Initially, the Serbian’s defense and court coverage was too much for Tsitsipas, who was pressured to go for riskier shots. Instead of slipping away in the third set, Tsitsipas dug in and began firing more consistently, particularly off his backhand wing, to get himself back in the match. Despite the drama, Djokovic never looked like he was down and stayed calm to run away with the fifth set. He would hit 56 winners for his 37th win in 38 matches.
It was just Tsitsipas’ second major semi-final appearance, while a fatigued Djokovic would come up flat against Nadal in the final, losing in straight sets.
Internazionali BNL d’Italia 2021: Djokovic def. Tstitsipas 4-6, 7-5, 7-5
This year’s clay-court swing has been Tsitsipas’ best showing ever. The World No. 5 picked up his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Monte-Carlo and added a second clay crown in Lyon, leading the tour with 39 wins in 2021.
Despite all of that red-hot momentum, Djokovic managed to subdue him in Rome on his way to the final for his fourth win in a row over the Greek. Due to rain, their semi-final battle played out across two days, and Tsitsipas twice led by a break in the deciding set, even serving for the match at 5-4.
The ATP Tour returns to London next week, with World No. 9 Matteo Berrettini making his debut at the cinch Championships, an ATP 500 grass-court tournament. The Italian, who reached the quarter-finals at Roland Garros (l. to Djokovic), faces compatriot Stefano Travaglia in the first round.
Former World No. 1 Andy Murray will be back in action after accepting a wild card into the event. Murray became the first player to win five Queen’s Club titles (2009, 2011, 2013, 2015-16), separating himself from the elite group of players who have won four Queen’s Club crowns, including John McEnroe, Boris Becker, Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Roddick. Murray will face top seed Berrettini in the second round if he overcomes Benoit Paire first.
The Brit, who last played singles in Rotterdam this March, will also be joined by second seed Denis Shapovalov, who begins against a qualifier. The 22-year-old Canadian is in the same half as #NextGenATP star Jannik Sinner, with the two projected to meet in the semi-finals. Sinner faces British wild card Jack Draper in the first round.
Also competing is reigning singles and doubles champion Feliciano Lopez, with the Spaniard starting against Filip Krajinovic, while two-time titlist Marin Cilic will play a qualifier.
Established: 1890
Tournament Dates: 14-20 June 2021
Tournament Director: Luiz Procopio Carvalho
Draw Ceremony Saturday, 12 June
Are You In? Subscribe To Get Tournament Updates In Your Inbox
Schedule (View On Official Website)
* Qualifying: Saturday 12 – Sunday 13 June at 11:00am
* Main draw: Monday 14 – Sunday 20 June at 12:00pm
* Doubles final: Sunday, 20 June at TBA
* Singles final: Sunday, 20 June at TBA
How To Watch
Watch Live On Tennis TV
TV Schedule
Tickets: More Information On Official Website
Venue: The Queen’s Club
Surface: Grass
Prize Money: €1,290,135 (Total Financial Commitment: €1,427,455)
View Who Is Playing, Past Champions, Seeds, Points & Prize Money Breakdown
Honour Roll (Open Era)
Most Titles, Singles: Andy Murray (5)
Most Titles, Doubles: Bob Bryan, Mike Bryan, Mark Woodforde, Todd Woodbridge (5)
Oldest Champion: Feliciano Lopez, 37 in 2019
Youngest Champion: Boris Becker, 17, in 1985
Highest-Ranked Champion: No. 1 Ivan Lendl in 1989-90, No. 1 Stefan Edberg in 1991, No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt in 2002.
Lowest-Ranked Champion: No. 113 Feliciano Lopez in 2019
Most Match Wins: John McEnroe (42)
Last Home Champion: Andy Murray in 2016
2019 Finals
Singles: Feliciano Lopez (ESP) d Gilles Simon (FRA) 6-2, 6-7(4,)7-6(2) Read More
Doubles: Feliciano Lopez (ESP) / Andy Murray (GBR) d Rajeev Ram (USA) / Joe Salisbury (GBR) 7-6(6), 5-7, [10-5] Read More
Social
Hashtag: #cinchChampionships
Facebook: @QueensTennis
Twitter: @QueensTennis
Instagram: @cinchchampionships
Unseeded Czech Barbora Krejcikova seals her rapid rise in the singles game by claiming a first Grand Slam title at the French Open.
Watch the best shots as Britain’s Johanna Konta reaches her first final for two years by beating Nina Stojanovic at the Nottingham Open.
Britain’s Johanna Konta reaches her first final for two years by beating Nina Stojanovic at the Nottingham Open.
Britain’s former world number one Andy Murray will play France’s Benoit Paire in his first singles match for three months next week at Queen’s.
Felix Auger-Aliassime’s love affair with the MercedesCup continued as he overcame Sam Querrey 6-4, 7-5 to reach an eighth ATP Tour final and second consecutive title match in Stuttgart.
The third-seeded Canadian, who lost to Matteo Berrettini in the 2019 final, did not face a break point as he hit seven aces to advance in 80 minutes against the American. The #NextGenATP star has not lost a set this week on the grass in Stuttgart and is now 17-11 on the season.
In an opening set that went with serve, Auger-Aliassime converted his first break point to find the decisive break at 5-4 and clinch the set. The second set followed a similar pattern, with the 20-year-old winning 89% (16/18) of his first-service points before taking his one opportunity on Querrey’s serve at 6-5 to close out the match.
[WATCH LIVE 1]
Auger-Aliassime will go in search of his first ATP title against Marin Cilic on Sunday. The Croatian, who is currently No. 47 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, won the opening set against Jurij Rodionov 6-3 before the Austrian wild card was forced to retire due to injury at 0-1 in the second set.
“I am feeling really good and very excited to be in the final after quite a period that I didn’t reach a final. I think this was a very positive week, I have played good tennis, served really well. Considering it is a shorter season, with one week less, for me, it was great to play this week. Losing in Paris to Roger Federer gave me more time to prepare for the grass,” Cilic said.
Cilic has had his son and wife with him this week in Germany and it is something that the former US Open champion has loved.
“I haven’t enjoyed being at a tournament this much in a long period of time, because it is the first time my son, wife and I are together at one tournament. The set up in Stuttgart is really nice, there is a lot of grass and open space around the hotel for my son to play and it is so much fun having them around,” Cilic said.
The World No. 142 Rodionov was bidding to become the lowest-ranked Stuttgart finalist since the start of the ATP Tour in 1990.
Cilic didn’t drop a first-service point (13/13) in the first set as he improved to a 33-26 record in semi-finals. The 32-year-old is looking to claim his first title since winning the cinch Championships in 2018. He leads Auger-Aliassime 2-0 in their ATP Head2Head Series with this their first meeting on grass.
Roger Federer will begin his title defence at the Noventi Open against a qualifier next week in Halle. The former World No. 1 enters as the fifth seed at the ATP 500 grass-court event, which also features Top 10 stars Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev and Andrey Rublev.
Held this year from June 14-20, the Halle honour roll includes Michael Stich (1994), Yevgeny Kafelnikov (2002), Tommy Haas (2012) and Lleyton Hewitt (2010). Federer is seeking to lift the trophy here for an 11th time after triumphing in 2003-06, 2008, 2013-15, 2017 and 2019. The Swiss could face MercedesCup finalist Felix Auger-Aliassime in the second round, and World No. 2 Medvedev, who plays German Jan-Lennard Struff, in the quarter-finals.
Roland Garros finalist Tsitsipas also plays a qualifier the first round, and could face Rublev in the semi-finals, with the Russian opening against compatriot Karen Khachanov.
Third seed Zverev, who is in the same half as Federer and Medvedev, begins against fellow German Dominik Koepfer and will play either Ugo Humbert or Sam Querrey in the second round. The 24-year-old is seeking to become the first German to win on home soil in Halle since Florian Mayer in 2016, and the seventh different German champion at the event.
Established: 1993
Tournament Dates: 14-20 June 2021
Tournament Director: Ralf Weber
Draw Ceremony: Saturday 12 June
Are You In? Subscribe To Get Tournament Updates In Your Inbox
Schedule (View On Official Website)
* Qualifying: Saturday 12 – Sunday 13 June at 11:00am
* Main draw: Monday 14 – Sunday 20 June at 12:00pm
* Doubles final: Sunday, 20 June at TBA
* Singles final: Sunday, 20 June at TBA
How To Watch
Watch Live On Tennis TV
TV Schedule
Tickets: More Information On Official Website
Venue: Gerry Weber Stadion
Surface: Grass
Prize Money: €1,318,605 (Total Financial Commitment: €1,455,925)
View Who Is Playing, Past Champions, Seeds, Points & Prize Money Breakdown
Honour Roll (Open Era)
Most Titles, Singles: Roger Federer (10)
Most Titles, Doubles: Raven Klaasen (3)
Oldest Champion: Roger Federer, 37, in 2019
Youngest Champion: Borna Coric, 21, in 2018
Highest-Ranked Champion: No. 1 Roger Federer in 2004-06, 2008
Lowest-Ranked Champion: No. 192 Florian Mayer in 2016
Most Match Wins: Roger Federer (68)
Last Home Champion: Florian Mayer in 2016
2019 Finals
Singles: [1] Roger Federer (SUI) d David Goffin (BEL) 7-6(2), 6-1 Read & Watch
Doubles: [2] Raven Klaasen (RSA) / Michael Venus (AUS) d [1] Lukasz Kubot (POL) / Marcelo Melo (BRA) 4-6, 6-3, [10-4] Read More
Social
Hashtag: #NOVENTIOPEN
Facebook: @atphalle
Twitter: @ATPHalle
Instagram:@atphalle_official
Did You Know?
Officials in Halle, Germany, paid tribute to Roger Federer by naming a street in his honour in 2012. ‘Roger-Federer-Allee’ leads to the main stadium, Weststrasse.